Tinignan ko si Keith na nasa tabi ko. ”Any updates?” I asked him. Kanina pa sila seryosong nag uusap eh. Hinahanap ata nila yung lalake.
He faced my side.”We.. Discovered that Juliana is always going for an internet cafe that has a private room.”
Humarap na rin sa’kin si Claud. “Yehp! Lagi siyang nag hahanap ng malalapit na internet cafe’s sa search places ng TP App eh.”
Graig raised his hand dahil siya ang malayo sa’kin. “I’m not allowed to access the customer’s privacy.” I don’t also know how we can ask his company to track a car, paano kung hindi yun Azzi.
Naintindihan ko naman iyon dahil wala naman kaming pwesto sa mga kumpanya. Tinignan ko si Aldo na gumagamit ng phone ngayon.
“Aldo can’t hack her phone. She’s not an OLM Tech user.” Explain na lang sa’kin ni Keith. Tumango tango na lamang ako sa kanya.
“Shit! ‘Pag tama tayo kay Juliana na yan papagalitan ko talaga siya.” Reklamo ni Aldo at masamang nakatitig sa phone.
“Why?” I asked him.
“Hindi siya OLM Tech user eh!” Aldo clicked his tongue. Tumawa naman kaming mga anakarinig sa kanya. “Mag aaral talaga ko mag hack ng iba pang phone.”
“Oy! Aiby!” Sigaw ni Blanca kaya napalingon kami sa kanya.
“Bakit?” Pinuntahan ko siya sa upuan niya.
Tinapat niya sa’kin ang phone niya. “Eto yung lola diba?”
Binasa ko ang comment ng isang babae sa picture ni Juliana at ang blurred na lalake.
Martha: Angelo iho nakakatuwa kayong tignan ni Juliana dito oh.
It was already a 6 hour ago comment. I clicked her profile at nakita ko ang mukha ng lola na tinulungan ko sa mall.
“Eto nga.” Sabi ko kay Blanca.
“Wala nag react sa comment niya. Siguro hindi siya pinansin dahil matanda, noh?” Blanca asked me while she’s scrolling.
I nodded. “Mukha ngang may boyfriend siya. Kilala ni lola eh.” Tumayo ako muli at binalita ito sa Ombres.
Brice asked Blanca to take a screenshot and send it to Ivo. Still, the company can’t just release that boyfriend ang kinikita ni Juliana. Unang una ay bawal ito at hindi maganda sa paningin ng fans. Pangalawa, privacy ‘yon ng boyfriend niya.
Urgh, what to do.
Half an hour passed and we received another call from Ivo. Nagulat pa nga kaming lahat kanina dahil ang lakas lakas ng ringtone ni Claud.
“Hello?” Sagot ni Claud.
“Oh pre loudspeaker mo hahaha.” Tawang tawa si Ivo sa kabilang linya.
Kanina pa naka loudspeaker ang phone kaya nilagay niya na lang ito sa table. We all shut our mouths and waited for Ivo.
“This is the PR Manager, we’ve already hired someone to delete the comment of the grandmother of Juliana and take down the pictures. We can’t delete them all but we can lessen the possibility that people might view it.” Bungad sa’min.
Nagtataka naman kami dahil tawang tawa si Ivo sa kabilang linya.
“Alam niyo ba? Hahaha” Si Ivo na ang naririnig namin.
“Hindi.” Pabalang sagot ng mga alaga ni Brice sa kanya.
“Luh yoko na.”
“Bilian mo! Arte ah.” Reklamo nila.
“Yung lalake dun sa picture hahaha ay walang iba kundi ang pinsan kong magaling. In short anak ng may ari ng Stelliferous Entertainment. Kaya lalong hindi namin pwede bitawan si Juliana dahil baka kasal ata ang ending nila.”
Wait? WHAT?! Pinsan niya lang yung lalaking kasama ni Juliana all this time?! Pero dapat ba niyang sabihan ‘yan sa’min?
“AHH SI KUYA ANGELO!” Napatayo si Claud dahil sa gulat.
“Hala oo nga pre bakit hindi ko napansin.” Gulat rin si Ayer. Tinignan niya pa uli ang phone ni Blanca.
“Sino yun, Ayer?” Blanca asked him. Nice question!
“Yung pinsan ni Ivo na ayaw kay Ivo dahil si Ivo ang magmamana ng Entertainment. Mas matanda satin ng 3 years ata.” Sagot ni Ayer kay Blanca na tumatango tango sa kanya.
“Edi Ivo ano sasabihin niyo?” Iris asked. Nalimutan kong nakacall pa rin kami.
“Hmm, pag iisipan pa dahil hindi namin marereveal na si Angelo kasama niya. Iisipin ng tao nakapasok lang siya dahil sa connection.” Explain sa kanya ng marahan ni Ivo.
Iris looked at Rave bago siya sumagot. “Ohh, okay.” Maybe she remembered Rave’s words.
Lumapit si Brice mas malapit sa phone. “You can tell them that it is okay to reveal that it is the son of the CEO.” Singit niya.
“Huh, bakit?” Ivo asked.
“Juliana is known for being the best candidate. Just tell them that Angelo is meeting her secretly because they’re talking about her contract and plans to reveal her as the first member to debut.”
“Ohhhhh, pwede pwede. Grabe papa Brice I love you mwa.” Narinig pa namin ang halik ni Ivo sa phone niya. Nandiri naman agad ang mga alaga ni Brice.
“Tell it to the PR Manager.” Binaba na ni Brice ang tawag.
“We can also help them spread it kapag na release na. Para matakpan ang issue na to.” I added and everyone agreed.
We all sat down on our own seats dahil may 2 hours class kami kay Miss Corpuz. We all waited for her habang ang iba naman ay nag phophone.
She entered the room at sinalubong kami ng malaki niyang ngiti. “Good day echos!” Bati niya sa’min nang makarating siya sa harapan.
We all greeted her back at hinintay ang mga sasabihin niya.
“First, I would like to say congratulations to all of you!” She clapped. “No one failed in this class and I hope it will continue to motivate you guys.”
“Second, let’s all congratulate Blanca for influencing the aspiring designers our university has. Most classes are sending request forms to design for their own uniform.” Tuwang tuwa naman ngayon si Blanca dahil sa sinabi ni miss. We all clapped until our hands numbed.
“Third, we’ll have a ball tournament next Thursday and Friday. It’s a sportsfest.” Miss Corpuz smiled and distributed some letters.
Dumating na sa pwesto ko ang letter na pinamigay ni miss. I read the letter and it’s the sports for our ball tournament. There’s basketball, volleyball, billiards, and tennis. Basketball is only for boys. There are men and women teams for volleyball and tennis. Billiards is open for anyone.
“You need to submit all the players for each sport on wednesday. The school also allows you to use the school time for practice, just bring your own equipment.” Miss Corpuz added while she’s fixing her thing.
Naglakad na siya palapit sa pinto. “I need to go to the meeting. And oh,” Sinilip niya ulit kami. “I’ve already reserved a basketball court for you guys.” She winked and left.
Pagsara ng pinto, doon lang nag sink in sakin lahat ng sinabi niya. Sportsfest? Really? A volleyball team needs 6 players tapos 8 lang kami, patay.
Urgh, ayaw ko.
Ayer stood up. “It’s our time to shine!!” Sigaw niya at nag hiyawan naman ang boys.
I saw Iris smiling but looking away. Natawa ako dahil parehas kaming hindi active ang katawan. Sila Blanca naman ay tuwang tuwa ngayon at nag tayuan na.
“Keith, laro ka ahh? Ahh?” Kulit sa kanya ni Ayer. Just like how he nagged Keith to dance jumbo hotdog.
Tinignan lang siya ng masama ni Keith. “I’ll think about it.”
“Yun oh! Oy lista niyo na si Keith!” Sigaw ni Ayer kila Ivo. Nasa harapan na kasi sila Ivo at nag lilista kung sino ang mga maglalaro.
“Wa-wait.” Kinalma sila ni Blanca. “Ano ano ba muna sports ng bawat isa?”
“Ako kasi, I can play volleyball.” She added.
“Volleyball rin.” Sagot ni Asra. Lumingon siya kay Twilla at trinaslate ang tanong.
“Oh! I can play volleyball and tennis.” Tinignan kami ni Twilla. Hindi man halata pero si twilla ang pinaka sporty samin.
“Volleyball rin o kaya Tennis. Pwede rin naman ako sa Billiards.” Singit ni Deborah.
“Ako rin.” Ely raised her hand.
Rave clicked her tongue. “Wala namang racing eh. Volleyball na lang.” She just shrugged it off.
We all look at Ella na katabi ni Rave. “Volleyball.” Isang sagot mula sa kanya.
Nalipat na naman ang tingin namin kay Iris na nahihiyang nakatingin samin. Tinanong siya uli ni Blanca.
“Uhm, jackstone?” Sagot samin ni Iris pero nag iwas ng tingin, she’s even fidgeting her fingers! Nagtawanan naman kaming lahat dahil sa hiya na pinapakita niya ngayon.
Rave patted her head. “Hahaha, nahiya ka pa umamin. Hindi fun ng sports si Iris eh but she can play volleyball.” Tinignan niya si Iris na nakapout sa kanya ngayon. “A little.” Tumawa muli siya.
Tinignan ako ni Ayer. “Eh ikaw Aiby?” Everyone heard his question kaya tumingin sila lahat sa’kin.
Tinatawanan ko si Iris pero I also look away. “Uhh, sleeping?” Nahihiya akong binalik ang tingin ko sa kanila.
There’s a moment of silence and then they all laugh.
“Kidding, I can play volleyball.” I looked at Rave na pinipigilan tumawa ngayon. “Also a little.”
Tumawa silang lahat until Graig clapped his hand. “Okay, tama na boys naman. I play Tennis”
“Kaya ko naman ata lahat?” Pagyayabang ni Claud.
Tumango tango naman si Ayer. “Yeah, hanggat kaya ng katawan ko.”
“‘Wag lang ginagamitan ng utak, kaya ko naman lahat.” Singit ni Ivo sa kanila.
Tinawanan siya ni Earl. “Kaya ka pala lagi natatalo samin kasi hindi ka nag iisip.” Tumawa naman sila. “Kaya ko rin halos lahat.”
“Ako… uhm I prefer online games but I can play Basketball.” Fabian raised his hand that made us all stop.
Aldo stood up. “Tinatanong pa ba yan? Syempre basketball ako.”
Hindi naman kumibo ang mga echo sa kanya. Hindi rin naghiyawan ang boys at tumawa ang girls. We’re just staring at him as if talking to him is a sin.
“Bayan! Naging Ella na ba kayo lahat?” Tanong niya samin kaya natawa kami. We saw Ella rolled her eyes at hindi pinansin si Aldo.
We all looked at Keith na tahimik lang sa tabi ko. I heard him laugh but hindi iyon nag tatagal.
“Ano daw sports mo?” I asked him dahil parang hindi niya alam bakit nakatingin kami sa kanya.
“Anything that needs to shoot.” Sagot niya na nagpawindang samin. Nag tawanan naman silang lahat habang ako iniisip kung nag jojoke ba siya o hindi.
He cleared his throat. “I-I mean, sports that have a goal. I’m not fond of playing volleyball, racing, fencing and more.” Pag explain niya habang tumatango naman ang mga boys habang nakangisi.
My my, my dirty mind can’t.
“Ikaw Brice?” Tanong sa kanya ni Ayer para maputol na ang mahabang tawanan nila.
Brice pushed his eye glasses with his middle finger. “I can think of plays and strategies. You can depend on me.”
Tinignan lang namin siya. Oh Brice, I…we get it.